ACRO E-mail Archive Thread: [IAC] RV-8 crash info

Message:

Greetings folks,
As an RV-8 builder, I have been CLOSELY monitoring this tragedy and the
resultant impact to the RV-8 design. Van's Aircraft has not released an
"official" statement yet, but one of my fellow builders spoke with the
factory today and they are indicating that pilot error *could* have been
the cause. The RV-8 wing is not terribly different from the -4 and -6,
and follows known, proven technology in it's design. The NTSB has
released a preliminary report, indicating simply "Breakup of the
airframe". The wing design has been loaded to failure at the factory,
and indicated structural breakage at +9G, but appeared sufficiently
sound to maintain 1G flight and landing. This was done in a gradual
manner, with sand bags, of course. Perhaps the sudden onset of critical
G loads would cause a more catastrophic failure mode.
We all know that ANY airplane can be overloaded and damaged, with
resultant horrific results. The RV builds speed so well, that a
heavy-handed pilot could overload it rather quickly. I have flown an
RV-4, and was very impressed with how sensitive and "firm" the controls
feel. It's a finger tip airplane, and stick forces per G are low. I'm
not sufficiently experienced to comment any further on it, but these are
my initial impressions.
The crash resulted in the deaths of the factory demonstrator pilot,
(with vast RV experience) and his passenger (pilot rated). There has
been no statement indicating post or pre-crash fire, but the airframe
was substantially damaged in the impact. Evidently, post crash
inspection of the wreckage did not reveal anything substantial, and
additional metallurgical evaluation is being conducted by the NTSB.
Details of the RV-8 wing may be seen on my Web page at:
http://geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/9656/akroshomepage.htm
Fly safe folks, preflight and fly your aircraft like your life depends
on it...because IT DOES.
Brian Denk
RV-8 #379
Albuquerque, NM
IAC #510177
*The above comments are purely my own, and in no way do I speak on
behalf of Van's Aircraft or anyone else's behalf*
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